Laureation Address: JJ Chalmers
Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD)
Laureation by Professor Tom Brown Vice-Principal (Research, Collections and Innovation)
Wednesday 4 December 2024
Vice-Chancellor, it is my privilege to present, for the Degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, JJ Chalmers.
For those of you who were glued to your television screens this summer following the highs and lows of the Olympic Games in Paris, JJ Chalmers will be a familiar figure as he was one of the BBC’s lead presenters for the games. For others, it may have been the 2020 series of Strictly Come Dancing (when he lost in the quarter final to a dance-off against Jamie Laing!), or indeed Money for Nothing, a television show for the committed up-cyclers out there.
Over the course of recent years, JJ Chalmers has become a well-recognised media figure who brings charm, humour, and real enthusiasm to whatever he is working on.
What is remarkable is how JJ has achieved this career following the life changing injuries that he received from an IED blast experienced whilst serving as a non-commissioned officer attached to 42 Commando, the Royal Marines in Afghanistan in May 2011. As a result of this blast, JJ suffered facial injuries, he lost two fingers, and his right elbow disintegrated. Whilst undergoing rehabilitation, JJ took part in the Invictus Games where he led the Great Britain trike team to a gold medal following his other bronze medals in the 1-mile time trial and the 4 x 100m relay race – a remarkable sporting achievement.
JJ Chalmers was born in 1986. Following school, he obtained a Batchelor of Education degree from the University of Edinburgh. After graduating, he became a craft, design, and technology teacher. Whilst teaching, he joined the Royal Marine Reserves and subsequently served on active duty in Afghanistan.
Following his success at the Invictus Games, his sporting prowess led to a range of broadcasting opportunities including a presenting slot for the Channel 4 coverage of the 2016 Paralympic Games and as a track side reporter at the World Athletics Championships and the Pyongchang Winter Olympics. JJ also anchored the Sports Journalists Award-nominated radio documentary, To Helmand and Back. In 2017, he joined the BBC Sport team where he has worked on many events including The Great North Run and the London Marathon as well as the Commonwealth, Invictus and Olympic Games.
In addition to his sports broadcasting, JJ has become a regular presenter of many of our most popular programmes and was also part of the BBC reporting team covering the funerals of Prince Philip and the late Queen, as well as the Coronation of King Charles III.
Whilst JJ’s sports broadcasting career has continued to flourish, he has also shown great diversity including taking part in the BBC Documentary Pilgrimage: The Road to Santiago, where he followed the famous medieval pilgrimage, across the north of Spain to examine its place in today’s world – hopefully this was at least a little more comfortable than yomping across the mountains with the Royal Marines. He has even featured in Gardeners World!
JJ has also maintained close contact with the forces and veterans’ communities presenting many documentaries and commemoration events including Trooping the Colour, the Remembrance Ceremony at the Cenotaph, and the Scottish National Ceremony to mark 100 years of the armistice. JJ also acts a Patron for Help for Heroes, the leading Armed Forces and veterans’ charity in the UK.
Vice-Chancellor, in recognition of his major contribution to sport, broadcasting, his service to his country, and his place as a role model in triumphing over adversity, I invite you to confer the Degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, on JJ Chalmers.